It may be an understatement to say that Stephen Badin is a seminal figure in Roman Catholic history in the United States.
In 1793, he became the first Roman Catholic priest ordained in the United States. He later did missionary work in Kentucky, and a farm that he purchased later became the Loretto Motherhouse.
Badin later donated more than 500 acres of land in South Bend, Indiana, to the Diocese of Vincennes. This land later became the campus of the University of Notre Dame.